Guatemala City - 7/26/10
I had some interesting luck after having my detour to Antigua. First, I was the only passenger in the minivan shuttle that left Antigua at 3:00pm. So, I had lots of space and a comfortable ride to Guatemala City instead of being crammed into a much smaller van with 15 other people. Second, the driver of the 3:00 van was the same guy that drove our group to Lago de Atitlan and Chichicastenango my first weekend in Guatemala. He is a very friendly guy named Lester. Andrea and I had a lot of fun chatting with him on our trip to Lago de Atitlan but at the end of the trip we didn’t get any of his contact information and weren’t ever able to hang out again while in Antigua. So, the fact that I had to wait in Antigua a few extra hours proved to be a really great thing. Not only did I have more time to check e-mail for the last time and a much more comfortable ride to Guatemala City, but I also got to connect with Lester again and this time we exchanged information. It was a very fortunate layover and I can’t say that about many layovers.
Guatemala City has been interesting. When I arrived at the Mira Flores Shopping Center, I had to call Chusita and her daughter to find out where they were. They told me they were at La Crepe and that sounded pretty easy to get to so I told them I’d meet them there. However, after following a sign that pointed me in the direction of La Crepe, I walked quite a distance and didn’t see this mythical restaurant or any other signs which would have lead me to believe I was going in the right direction. So, I asked a few people that I thought would know where this place was and both pointed me back in the direction I had come from. I figured if two people were telling me to go the same way, maybe the sign was wrong. I should have known better. Turns out that I just didn’t walk quite far enough. Had I turned the corner that was another 100 feet from where I decided to turn around, I would have realized I was going in the right direction. However, my big backpack and my little backpack were getting kind of heavy and I wanted to find somewhere to set them down so that I could give my muscles a little break. So, I plopped my small backpack on the ground by my feet and called Chusita again to tell them that I couldn’t find La Crepe. Eventually we worked it out that they would come find me. After successfully meeting up with them, we dropped my bags in the car and headed back into the mall to go to a Mayan artifact museum that is near the mall. It was really quite interesting and informative. I only say the informative part because all of the passages next to the displays were in both English and Spanish. I probably would only have understood one half or two thirds of the information had I only been allowed to read the Spanish part. I probably would have taken a few photos too but didn’t have my camera with me at the time. The museum was all about the Mira Flores Lake that used to be located at the same place as the museum and mall. The exhibits told the story of the community that existed so long ago as well as how a large team of scientists uncovered some of the ruins.
After the museum, we headed back to the car to go to a different shopping center where we would be meeting up with Chusita’s son and his family. However, en route to the car, I spotted a Zara and of course, they were having a huge sale. So, we went into the store and I leafed through a few racks before finding a really great summer dress that was on sale for Q79, which ends up being about $10. Pretty good deal if you ask me! Knowing I had a bit of money to burn, I decided to buy it. I hadn’t really bought much for myself yet except food and travel plus it is a very lightweight dress that will compact easily into my backpack. I told myself the exact same thing at the next mall when I found a really cute shirt and leggings that were also on sale. After I had sufficiently satisfied my retail cravings, we met up with Chusita’s son and his family and then we all headed back to their neighborhood, which is about 20 minutes south of the city when there is no traffic. Chusita and her daughter live in one house and her son and his family live about three blocks away. We had a bit of dinner and then chatted a bit around the table. This made me realize that it takes a few days to get used to how people speak before I start to really understand what they are saying. I purposely didn’t tell them to slow down a whole lot because I wanted to see if I could understand them when they were speaking at their normal pace. I have to admit that I didn’t catch a whole lot of the conversation but I got the general drift when they started talking about Andres, Chusita’s grandson, and his karate lessons. Now, after having spent a few days with them, I am starting to pick up much more even when they are speaking their normal speed.
Sunday was pretty chill. I just hung out at their house in the morning and afternoon, reading my chick-lit novel, Last Chance Saloon, from the used bookstore in San Pedro. We had a late afternoon meal of grilled beef, guacamole, rice and bean soup, tortillas and of course a little bit of cake after the meal. I continued to read more after everyone scattered when we finished eating and ended up finishing my book, a little over 48 hours since I started reading it. It was exactly the book I was looking for and was pretty entertaining for a no-brainer book. Thinking back to the beginning of the summer, I can’t really believe I’ve read four books in a little more than two months. I still have one left on my nightstand at home that I need to finish. We’ll see how many I can squeeze in before school starts on August 23rd. Although, I might not have a ton of time because I know I’m going to be catching up on so many errands and tons of SHARING stuff. Kind of daunting…but right now I’m still on vacation.
Today, we woke up really early to get into the city in time for Chusita’s daughter to get to work by 8:30. We left the house at 6:30 and were in bumper-to-bumper traffic headed into the city the entire way. At one point, the entire highway had turned into a one-way highway into the city. It was very amusing. The traffic police had completely stopped the cars and motorcycles that wanted to head out of town. Who knows how long they had to wait to leave the city. Being a passenger here, in both the city and in the country, makes me really appreciate the highway system in the US. I’m sure I’d be able to hold my own and drive here if I had to, but it is definitely not something I would choose to do. After finally reaching the city, Chusita and I went to the Palacio Nacional, the main government building of Guatemala. It was quite spectacular and we even had a guide that explained a lot about the building and the different rooms that she showed us. One point that I found particularly interesting was that the president, who initiated the construction of the Palacio, had his fingerprint imprinted on every single door handle in the building. Talk about a big ego or, at least, wanting to leave a lasting impression. This is also where I started taking a few photos…
Palacio Nacional in Guatemala City
Inner courtyard of the Palacio Nacional
Door handle with the thumb print of the former Guatemalan president who commissioned the construction of the Palacio Nacional building.
Amazing stained glass windows in the Palacio Nacional
Presidental Reception Hall in the Palacio Nacional
After leaving the Palacio Nacional, we went to the Mercado Central, and like many other markets in Guatemala, it was filled with artisan crafts and tourist trinkets. However, this market also had more than just one level and the other levels housed food markets as well as booths that were making food on the spot. Had I been on my own in Guatemala City, I probably would have planned to visit this market during the lunch hour so that I could have sampled some of the local fare. However, I wasn’t that hungry and I was also meeting up with a former student, who now lives in Guatemala City with her family. So, I didn’t really have a ton of time to wander around the market. Maria, my former student, met up with us in the market and then she and I parted ways with Chusita. Maria and I walked a bit more around the market so that I could buy a small present for Chusita for letting me stay with her while I’m here. Then we went into the cathedral and looked around, took some pictures and talked a bit about the catholic faith.
La Cathedral in Guatemala City
Main alter in the cathedral
Maria is Mormon so she had never been in the cathedral. I had read a bit about the cathedral in my guidebook. So, like a proper tourist, I informed Maria that many of the artifacts and alters had been transported from Antigua’s cathedral after the earthquake in the 1770s that lead to the government moving the capital from Antigua to Guatemala City. Thinking a little more about the number of times that the capital has moved, I realized that the two former capitals are named Antigua, which means antique, and la Ciudad Vieja, which means the old city. It is quite interesting…at least, I think so.
Maria and I walked back to her house and chatted along the way about what she is doing now and what I am doing now. It was really nice to catch up with her. Her family lives in a military neighborhood because her dad is in the army. I got to see her house, and meet her two youngest sisters, her dad and her super cute husky puppy. Her dad started talking to me a lot about how politics in Guatemala have changed over the years and how the country seems to always be on a roller coaster depending on who is president at the time. He seems like a very intense man and had I stayed much longer at their house, I probably would have learned much more about his feelings on the Guatemalan government. However, I had to leave to meet up with Chusita and company so that we could get some lunch and then head back home.
Maria and I at her house in Guatemala City
The rest of the afternoon was pretty chill. We ate lunch at McDonald’s (for me, probably the first time in years) with Andres, I watched some Biggest Loser (dubbed in Spanish) with Andres, and then we brought Andres to his Karate lessons and watched his lesson. Most of the afternoon revolved around what 7-year-old Andres was doing and now I have a small glimpse of what it must be like to have a child. Don’t get me wrong, I still had a grand time hanging out with him and Chusita. The karate lesson was actually very entertaining. Especially because the instructor was quite good looking even though he had a jerry curl that looked like it came straight out of “Coming to America.”
That’s really about it for Guatemala City. Again, had I been on my own in the city, I probably would have explored a bit more but I’m satisfied with everything that I saw and can leave the rest for the next time I come back. Who knows when that will be but I do plan on coming back at some point.
Peace out until the next leg of Andrea’s Travels! Time for me to head to bed so that I won’t be too tired when I wake up at the butt crack of dawn to catch my 7:15am flight.
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P.S. I made it back to the US in one piece...haven't checked my fragile items yet to see if they are in the same state though!
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